Written communications today follow some fairly common and standard formats:

• Personal letters usually begin something like "Dear Mary" and end with "Love, John." We write the date near the top right, sometimes add a P.S. after the signature, fold the letter, put it in an envelope, and write the recipient's address and the return address on the outside.
• Business memos or E-mail messages often have a four-part header (To: / From: / Date: / Re:  or  From: / Sent: / To: / Subject:). 

Most letters written in the ancient world also followed a standard format, but one which is slightly different from today. The New Testament letters that were written by and/or attributed to Paul and the other Apostles usually follow the standard expectations of their day. Although there are some variations in individual letters (esp. in the body and conclusion), the basic structure of the New Testament letters can be outlined as follows:
 

• Letter Beginning:
  • Senders: Paul is rarely the only author, but one or more co-authors are usually mentioned (who else is named? which letters name Paul alone? why?)
  • Recipients: These letters are not addressed to all the people in the respective cities, but only to small groups of Christian believers (exactly how does Paul refer to them?)
  • Formulaic Greeting: Paul combines a variation of the usual Greek greeting (chaire - "Grace") and the common Jewish greeting (shalom - "Peace") (what does this tell us about Paul? about his readers?)
  • Thanksgiving: Paul almost always gives thanks to God for something about the recipients (their faith, hope, and love, or the good example they give for other Christians).
• Sections and subsections: all of the letters written by or attributed to Paul contain the standard three main sections, but not all Pauline letters structure the subsections exactly as listed above:
• A subsection is sometimes omitted (e.g. in the opening of Gal; at the end of 1 Thessalonians)
• The order of subsections is sometimes rearranged (esp. the endings of many of Paul's letters)
• Some letters have more than one section of the same type (e.g. two "thanksgivings" in 1 & 2 Thessalonians; several "prayers" in Romans)
• Theological, ethical, and practical concerns are often complexly intertwined, esp. in the long letters (so the verse divisions in the "Letter Body" sections below are only approximate suggestions).
• Paul almost always concludes with a doxology (praise of God), prayer, or blessing for the believers to whom he/they are writing.

A careful consideration of exactly which verses of each letter belong to each of these standard sections (or which are missing) can lead to some important observations about the nature and message of that letter.

Abbreviations: CJ = "Christ Jesus";  JC = "Jesus Christ";  Square Brackets [ ] indicate verses that do not quite fit the typical section descriptions.

The Seven Undisputed Pauline Letters (with 2 Thess, for comparison to 1 Thess):

The Six Disputed Pauline Letters (and Hebrews for comparison, even though it is not in standard letter format):

The "Catholic Epistles" or "General Letters" (and the Letter in Acts 15):

The last seven letters of the NT (and the brief letter cited in Acts 15) are slightly different from the Pauline letters in form and structure, yet still follow the general conventions of ancient letters:

• Most of them were not written to a specific individual or community (except 2 & 3 John), but are addressed to a more "general" readership.
• Thus, they are not named for the person(s) who received the letter (as Paul's letters are), but rather for the apostle who wrote it (or to whom it is attributed, since the authorship of some is disputed today).
• There were probably multiple copies made and distributed to several different Christian communities (much like papal encyclicals are sent to all bishops today, or like people send out Christmas letters to all their friends at once).
• Thus they are usually called the "General Letters" or "Catholic Epistles" (not because they were written for or by the Roman Catholic Church, but because the word "catholic" means "universal").
• 1 John is not really a letter (it lacks the typical beginning and end); James lacks a typical letter ending; most of these lack an initial "Thanksgiving" subsection; and most have fewer "personal greetings" at the end than Paul's letters have.

Combined & Edited Letters:

Another common practice in the ancient world was to collect and republish the letters of famous people like Paul.  In this process, shorter letters were sometimes combined or other editorial changes made.

For example, what is normally called the "Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians" (2 Cor) might be a compilation of what were originally between two and five separate letters. Some scholars use letters A-G to distinguish all the different letters Paul may have written to the Christians in Corinth, even though the NT contains only two canonical letters:

• Cor A = a previous letter, now missing  (mentioned in 1 Cor 5:9)
• Cor B = most of 1 Cor  (Paul responds to oral and written reports from Corinth; see 1Cor 1:11; 7:1; 16:17)
• Cor C = 2 Cor 2:14 – 6:13; 7:2-4  (Paul defends his apostleship against various unnamed opponents)
• Cor D = 2 Cor 10:1 – 13:10  (the so-called "Letter of Tears"? - as mentioned in 2 Cor 2:3-4; 7:8-12)
• Cor E = 2 Cor 1:1 – 2:13; 7:5-16; 13:11-13  (a "Letter of Reconciliation")
• Cor F = 2 Cor 8  (instructions for how to organize the collection for the poor in Jerusalem)
• Cor G = 2 Cor 9  (more instructions for the Jerusalem collection)

• Phil A = Phil 4:10-20   (a short "Note of Thanksgiving" for monetary gifts Paul received from the Philippians)
• Phil B = Phil 1:1 – 3:1; [4:2-9?]; 4:21-23   (a "Letter of Friendship" with thanks, news, and exhortations)
• Phil C = Phil 3:2 – 4:1 [or to 4:3 or 4:9?]   (a stern warning against the "dogs" who require the circumcision of Gentiles)

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